Arsenal, the defending champion, and Manchester City, the runner-up, continue their struggle to break the partnership at the top of the English Football League, in their meeting with Brighton and Sunderland, respectively, in the fifth stage.
Since the start of the season, Arsenal, led by Spaniard Mikel Arteta, has won its seven matches in the league, the Champions League, the League Cup and the Community Shield.
Its recent victory over Ipswich 4-2 in the cup came with the participation of a number of substitute players, and Arteta expressed his admiration for the enthusiasm shown by the substitute players.
He said: “This is what we want, to approach every match and every tournament with the same mentality, the same commitment and the same desire, and so far we are doing that.”
After defeating Sunderland last week, the Gunners achieved their ninth consecutive victory in the league. This is the team's longest winning streak since March 2004, when it continued its path to winning the title without suffering any defeat throughout the season.
Arsenal conceded only two goals during this period, and may now be on the cusp of achieving at least ten consecutive victories in the league for only the third time in its history.
Thanks to six victories in the last seven away matches in the league, compared to one defeat, Arteta’s team appears to be a candidate to defeat Brighton, especially since it has not lost to them in the last seven matches, achieving five victories and two draws, even if its opponent will not be easy.
It may seem surprising that Brighton is the team with the most goals in the league after four stages (13 goals), but that came after sweeping Coventry 5-0 in the last stage.
But Brighton was unable to maintain its unbeaten record, as it narrowly lost to Chelsea (3-4), but it surprised Manchester United and beat it 3-2 in the League Cup.
As for City, which plays its cup match against Norwich on Thursday, it has also achieved six consecutive victories in various competitions, but it did not appear as strong as Arsenal.
Italian coach Maresca's team won by a goal difference over Coventry, Bournemouth and Manchester United, although they played with ten men for most of the confrontation with the latter.
City will play without Phil Foden for three matches after he was sent off.
“He realizes his reaction wasn't good, but it's over now and we're moving on,” Maresca said.
The Italian, who worked as coach of the U-21 reserve team at Manchester City, and contributed to the promotion of five players to the first team, explained that he may give the opportunity to young talents, along with players who do not participate regularly, in the match with Norwich, which means greater rest for the starters before facing Sunderland on Sunday.
Chelsea, sixth, opens the stage against its host, Brentford, seventh, in the West London derby match.
Despite its offensive strength, the Blues suffer defensively, which explains why they were satisfied with only two wins in the first four matches.
Chelsea's league matches this season saw 19 goals scored, the highest number in the tournament, with 10 goals scored by the team and 9 goals conceded.
Brentford hopes to extend its longest unbeaten streak in the league, but it is also looking for victories, after being limited to 10 draws in the last 14 league matches.
Speaking of draws, Liverpool, which has not lost any match, also attends, but wasted six points in three matches, including two at Anfield.
The team plays its next match away from home to Bournemouth, looking for only its second win. But the Vitality Stadium is no stranger to Spanish coach Andoni Iraola, who coached Bournemouth between 2023 and 2026 before moving to the Reds.
Hull City hopes to continue its successful and unexpected journey, after gaining 8 points without losing, when it meets its host Newcastle United, which is in twelfth place.
Tottenham is also looking forward to achieving its first victory in the league against its guest, Aston Villa, who also lost three matches and settled for a point.
On Sunday, all eyes will be on the French football Clasico between defending champion Paris Saint-Germain and its host Marseille in the fifth round of the league, in a confrontation between two teams whose start to the season was not up to expectations.
Saint-Germain, which is playing without its fans at the Velodrome Stadium by decision of the Ministry of the Interior, seeks to confirm its awakening when it is a heavy guest on its arch-rival Marseille, which is in thirteenth place with four points from a win and a draw.
After a shaky start to the season, in which they failed to win in the first three matches of the local league, Spanish coach Luis Enrique's team's machinery began to regain its luster after a crushing victory over Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia 6-1 in the opening round of the unified group stage of the Champions League, before following it up with another victory, albeit less prolific in scoring, over Brest 1-0 in the league.
“El Clásico” is one of the most tense and intense confrontations in French football.
Saint-Germain fans will be prohibited from attending the match at Velodrome Stadium, or even being in its vicinity.
A decision issued by the Ministry of the Interior stated: “On Sunday, September 20, it is prohibited to move individually or collectively, by any means, for anyone claiming to be a fan of Paris Saint-Germain, or acting on this basis, between the municipalities of the Ile-de-France region on the one hand and the city of Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) on the other hand.”
This decision comes after another issued on September 9 by the delegated police prefecture in Bouches-du-Rhône, prohibiting on Sunday any Saint-Germain fan from “entering the Velodrome stadium or stopping or moving on public roads in the city center and in the vicinity of the stadium.”
Saint-Germain is counting on its star-studded arsenal, led by Ousmane Dembélé, the best player in the world for the year 2025, and is also armed with the remarkable presence of its new striker, the Spanish Ferran Torres, who scored the winning goal against Brest.
In turn, Marseille relies on the strength of its midfield, led by Danish Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Englishman Angel Gomez, with the aim of disrupting Saint-Germain's offensive build-up from deep, and launching quick and lightning transitions.
The irony is that Marseille had defeated its rival in the confrontation that brought them together in September of last year at the Velodrome Stadium, 1-0, with an own goal by Brazilian Marquinhos, which strengthens the ambitions of coach Bruno Genesio’s team to repeat the victory.
As for Saint-Germain, which started the season with a loss in the French Champions Cup against Lens, and then settled for two points from 3 matches in the league, it hopes to achieve its second victory locally.
On the other hand, the other pole of the capital, Paris FC, seeks to confirm its strong start when it hosts Strasbourg in a confrontation between two teams that were strongly present at the beginning of the season, on Saturday.
Paris FC ranks fourth with 8 points (two wins and two draws), on goal difference from Lyon, which hosts Rennes in a difficult match, while Strasbourg comes sixth with 7 points (two wins, a draw and a loss).
In turn, Monaco seeks to take the lead, even if temporarily, when it hosts Lens, last season's runner-up, on Friday at the opening of the stage.
After starting the season strong with three consecutive victories, including over Saint-Germain 2-1, the principality team fell into a 1-1 draw against Strasbourg last week, losing the lead on goal difference to Lille, while also leading on goal difference over Rennes III (10 points).
Brazilian coach Filipe Luis' men are looking to continue the consistent performances before the international break, which will give them a great morale boost at the beginning of a long and arduous season.
Lewis is counting on the young German striker Paris Broner to continue his brilliance, after he scored 3 goals in 4 matches, including a remarkable brace that led his team to victory over its guest Marseille in the second stage (2-0).
On Friday, Monaco has the opportunity to extend its unbeaten record at home in League 1 to 6 consecutive matches this month. Its last defeat in league matches at its home stadium in “Louis II” during the month of September dates back to 2023, when it lost to its traditional rival, Nice, 1-0.
For its part, Lens started the season strong, after defeating Saint-Germain in the French Super Cup match, before opening its league campaign with a sweeping victory over Auxerre 5-2. However, the team quickly lost the sparkle of its start, after suffering two losses, and contented itself with a draw in its last three matches, falling to tenth place with 4 points.
In turn, Rennes and Lille are looking to maintain their unbeaten record when they play against Nice and Lyon on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
